


Ruby

by AngelynMoon



Series: Dead Au [2]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hobbit History & Lore, I Don't Even Know, Immortal Hobbits, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-01
Updated: 2018-09-01
Packaged: 2019-07-05 08:38:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15860097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelynMoon/pseuds/AngelynMoon
Summary: Summary: The world changes those that allow it.





	Ruby

Summary: The world changes those that allow it.

 

\----

 

Bilbo sat quietly at the edge of the lake that Laketown was built upon, the parts Smaug had burned away had been rebuilt and Bilbo was glad for it, for those that would remain in Laketown.

But that was not why Bilbo sat here.

Hobbits, as a general rule, disliked large bodies of water; during their Formings they could not swim, not even if they learned, their bones too dense ad solid thus they would sink no matter what they did unless they had something buoyant between them and the water, during a Becoming they could only swim if their chosen form could such as a fish or duck.

Bilbo wondered if, perhaps, he could Become briefly, to see what had become of Smaug. There was no set time limit for either Forming or Becoming, though generally a Hobbit would hold a Form for less than a hundred years but would Become for longer depending on the Becoming's life span.

Bilbo twisted the Handkerchief in his hand before looking down at it, it was a worn and tattered thing, singed and ripped at the edges and in one corner embroidered messily, a Faunt's first attempts, were the initials B.B.

Bofur had given it to him, told him he must have dropped it it their run from Smaug. But Bilbo had forgotten his handkerchief and had not replaced it, even if he had he would not have had time to make his initials upon it.

Thorin sat down next to Bilbo and Bilbo glanced over at him.

"Bard told me you came down here." Thorin told him.

Bilbo's gaze returned to the lake, "Do Dragons die?"

Thorin frowned, "I suppose they must."

"How long can they live for?" 

"Centuries, according to Gandalf," Thorin answered, "Bilbo?"

"My first Forming, long ago, I found an egg." Bilbo began quietly, twisting the handkerchief again, "I was still curious about the new creatures that were being cast upon the world, my chosen Form similar to an Elf in that it was tall and slight, quick and light, but round in the face like a Hobbit."

Bilbo smiled, "It was before Hobbits settled into a smaller Forming, before Dwarrow were born from the Stone of Mahal, it was after the first Dwarrow woke from the Stone that many Hobbits decided to take a smaller Form and then we Wandered a time, coming together to develop our own culture and traditions, before Dwarrow were carved from their Stones we Hobbits were very much separate beings and never much minded one another unless we'd paired as a couple as my parents had." Bilbo explained when Thorin made a confused face.

"I found what I'd mistaken as a ruby gemstone, when it hatched several years later I was both delighted and shocked, as you could imagine, not so delighted when the little lizard set my hair aflame the first time."

Thorin's eyes had widened as Bilbo continued to speak, Bilbo supposed it must have surprised the Dwarf.

"The little thing, Oh, I always called him my little Ruby, he'd a fondness for hording my neckerchiefs, my handkerchiefs , he'd even take my waistcoats." Bilbo laughed wistfully.

"When we Become, the memories made during a Forming dim. It is why after a tragedy happens during a Forming a Hobbit will Become soon after, it is why I would have Become had you died from your wounds." Bilbo paused, "After a time my Ruby became too big to keep along with me on my travels, those made of Starlight had been brought forth by then and they were not at all kind to my Ruby, though I kept him safe as best I could, so I eventually sent him to journey alone, far from those that would cast cruel words to him and make him doubt himself. After he was away from me I Became a little reed near a lovely little spring, for several seasons I stayed along the spring until it grew into a stream and I Formed again and made my way over mountains to the land my people had settled. We Hobbits have an instinctive sense of where others are, I always though it was to help avoid one another but, ahh." Bilbo smiled secretively at Thorin as though sharing a secret, "I never did see my Ruby after that Forming, and I suppose, after so many Becomings and Formings, I must have forgotten him some."

"Smaug was... you raised him?" Thorin forced out.

Bilbo shook his head, "Smaug was not my Ruby, perhaps they shared the body, but my Ruby would not harm another living being, I had him for the start, a handful of centuries. But the world..." Bilbo glanced at Thorin, "The world has a way of twisting what is good and kind into something cruel and evil, if one allows it."

Bilbo looked away from Thorin, back to the lake where Smaug had fallen.

"I suppose my Ruby must have allowed it, allowed himself to become Smaug."

Bilbo stood, casting the handkerchief upon the water where it began drifting away from them on the gentle waves, towards the center of the lake before sinking beneath the waves, a part of Bilbo hoped that it returned to it's owner, the little Drakeling that had stolen it so long ago.

"I mourn the little Drakeling that dug up daisy flowers and sneezed the petals from my sunflowers, that singed my hair, that I taught to fly and speak. I mourn my Ruby child that hatched from stone that burned. I cannot mourn Smaug, he is not mine to mourn. For what he did to you I cannot mourn him. But I mourn who he once was... when he was mine."

Thorin stood as well and took Bilbo's hand.

"If it is not too deep a wound, perhaps you can tell me more of your Ruby." Thorin offered.

There was much of Bilbo that Thorin would never be able to understand, they were so different, Bilbo centuries, millennia, older than he could ever be, but Thorin knew grief, he knew the pains it could bring, even long after and he knew that it was not time that eased the pain but the memories that were shared.

"Perhaps." Was all Bilbo offered as he stared out at the lake that was a tomb for the drake that his little Ruby had become.

 

\-----

A/N: So... why did I write this?  
Yes, Bilbo raised Smaug for a time, but you know Dragons grow and Sauron or whatever...  
And Bilbo's Form was different when Smaug was young thus no recognition.  
I just needed to write this thought out, feel free to ignore it in the grand scheme of Dead Au.

Also the whole life span of a Becoming doesn't actually matter when it is a Hobbit, like a lasting for decades if a Hobbit wanted to stay a tree for that long they could but they could also spend a week as a tree, and well no one would be able to chop it down, they might even be compelled away to a different tree, same with animal forms, a person that tries to hunt them when they are a deer will perhaps suddenly feel ill at the thought of eating it and find something else to eat. I don't know Hobbit Magic. A Hobbit could also find themselves spending centuries as a fish or something like that should they chose.

Regarding Smeagal, in that I don't quiet know if the Ring exists in this Au yet but as such if it does Smeagal would have lost his ability to change from a Form to a Becoming because Hobbits can't die as such but they can be forced into a Becomeing when dealt a Mortal blow which Smeagal gave Deagal when they fought over the Ring, thus Deagal would have to be Forced back to Form but he wouldn't remember what happened to force the change, and the Ring twisted the Hobbit Magic in Smeagal until he could no longer access it but remained long lived, though it twisted his Form as he had lost the ability to control his appearance making him appear as he does in the movie.

Sorry about the Information dump but I had to get it down while I was thinking about it otherwise I'd lose the idea.


End file.
